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OF THE MELANESIAN MISSION THE TRACT COMMITTEE NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C.; 43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C. BRIGHTON: 129, NORTH STREET NEW YORK: E. S. GORHAM |
THE following pages do not attempt to give more than a slight sketch of the Melanesian Mission in the S.W. Pacific, with the idea of tracing the influence of Bishop Patteson on the characters of his scholars, and their subsequent share in spreading the Light they themselves had received. Hardly any mention has been made of the .white missionaries. Valuable and necessary as their presence is to organise, instruct, and encourage, the Melanesian Church, if it is to be a native one and not a mere exotic, must be, and is being, built up by the natives themselves. All honour to those teachers who go on quietly and perseveringly year after year, visited but seldom, not possessed of great mental gifts, but leading, advising, and helping their people. It is these who are the real pillars of the Melanesian Church.
[vi] NOTES ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF NATIVE NAMES THE Continental pronunciation is given to the vowels. U is pronounced oo.
g (nasalized g) is pronounced as ng in "finger." The ordinary g is pronounced very softly; almost as an aspirate. [Note: the nasalized g has double dots over it.]
n (nasalized n) is pronounced as ng in "string." In the North-Western Solomons (Florida, Guadalcanar and Ysabel) b is pronounced mb; d is pronounced nd. [Note: the nasalized n has double dots over it.]